Fidelity Continues to Deepen their Commitment in the Communities they Serve
Last year has been unlike any year in recent times. As we tackled a global pandemic, we also were confronting issues of social justice and racial equity. As employers operating in this “new normal,” we should all be asking ourselves, “What does corporate volunteerism look like in 2021? How do you continue to create authentic community engagement?”
The importance of corporate social responsibility has grown over the last several years. Consumers increasingly value companies not just by what they produce, but how responsibly they operate as a business.
At Fidelity Investments, we paused to take a deeper look at our community relations efforts and listen to our nonprofit partners. Our goal was to focus on better aligning our community relations efforts with our expanding focus on diversity and inclusion.
“We are deepening our commitment to supporting racial equity across all of our programming and partnerships, and finding new ways to understand and support the underlying issues that underrepresented and underserved communities are facing”, said Teresa Pelletier, Vice President of Community Relations.
For a decade, Fidelity volunteers have helped beautify school campuses in regions where Fidelity has a large employee presence by painting classrooms and building outdoor seating. While the work we’ve done at schools has been a tremendous help to our partners over the years, we will begin to look even deeper into the issues that the students in our communities’ face. In partnership with Points of Light, we have evolved our School Transformation Day programming to a Season of Transformation for 2021.
The Season of Transformation will focus on “listening, responding and reflecting.” Our Points of Light Global Network affiliates will convene nonprofits in the communities and Fidelity associates for Listen and Learn sessions. The goal is to help Fidelity associates better understand the systemic issues affecting students and local communities and the challenges within the education sector and get connected with the ecosystem of community partners supporting students and their families.
Fidelity volunteers, working with Points of Light, will respond by designing meaningful and impactful virtual or at-home projects and programming to supply local schools with much needed resources.
Lastly, once the programming has been completed, Points of Light Global Network affiliates will help our volunteers reflect on the impact of their collective efforts and understand how they can act in their communities to support sustainable change.
By focusing and better understanding the needs of underserved communities, while adapting to a virtual environment, we are continuing our focus of supporting the communities where we live, work, learn and serve.
Civil Rights in the Nonprofit Sector With HandsOn Greater Richmond and CAF Southern Africa
While human and civil rights have been issues at the forefront of society for generations, they’ve increasingly gained traction over the past hundred years or so. And in the past several years, with more viral footage of racial injustices, it’s become a prominent issue that can no longer be denied. With a focus on promoting equity and fighting discrimination, many nonprofits are leading the charge in a more just society.
, a Points of Light Global Network affiliate and the volunteer center program of the Community Foundation for a greater Richmond, is actively striving to offer equitable experiences and continue to improve their internal processes.
The nonprofit partners with individuals, families and organizations to make giving easy and effective, strengthens nonprofit organizations through grants, training, volunteer mobilization and other supports, provides leadership and insight to important community issues and promotes a culture of philanthropy and service. HandsOn Greater Richmond helps people find their civic path, supporting them in finding out how they can use their time and money.
Muralist Hamilton Glass speaks with community volunteers before they work together on one of the 17 murals created in summer of 2020 in response to conversations around racial justice in Richmond, VA.
“Our work is to build mutually beneficial relationships,” said Vanessa Diamond, senior vice president, Civic Innovations. “Our job is to effectively educate, engage and inform people who are interested in a certain topic area. To do this shifts the power dynamics so that we’re volunteering
with
community, not just
to
community.”
Their goal is for community members to be informed and educated about the region as well as their own knowledge and motives, before helping, honoring the lived experiences of the populations in the region.
, HandsOn Greater Richmond helps civically-minded individuals to more strategically direct their energy, aligning their passions, skills and talents with an issue their community needs.
as a framework for all of their initiatives and decision-making. “The RVA Engage Vision and Guiding Principles were developed in 2019 through a collaboration of community engagement professionals in the nonprofit, corporate and educational sectors,” Vanessa explained. “They were shared at the 2019 Civic Impact Summit and continue to serve as a foundation for many conversations throughout the region.”
Another Points of Light Global Network affiliate partner,
, is a civil society infrastructure organization acting as an intermediary at the intersection between philanthropy and civil society. CAFSA’s primary reason for being is to grow and champion charitable giving in order to support a vibrant and resilient civil society, which is one of the core pillars of South Africa’s young democracy.
HandsOn Greater Richmond volunteers assist with food delivery to students.
As an intermediary, CAFSA is well-placed to understand the needs of both its corporate and nonprofit clients. CAFSA is both a purpose and a knowledge-driven business, and so all their consulting and advisory work with corporate clients is based on evidenced-based research. CAF produces the annual
, which measures generosity behaviors, such as donating money, time and goods to those in need. The WGI also tracks giving trends across the globe and enables CAFSA to monitor these generosity behaviors closely.
CAFSA is cause-neutral, which means the organization leaves no good cause behind. The organization focuses its interventions on the groups and communities who are most marginalised in society.
Gill Bates, CAFSA’s CEO, shared, “After the apartheid era ended, the country was liberated from an inhumane regime which systematically excluded people of color from the economy, employment, quality education, housing and healthcare. In spite of this hard-won political liberation, South Africa continues to struggle with the apartheid inheritance of poverty, inequality and unemployment. While South Africa is now a constitutional democracy and is regarded as a middle income country, the nation continues to have one of the highest ratios of income inequality in the world.”
CAFSA’s nonprofit partners work across all sectors, including but not limited to child welfare, care of the elderly and those with disabilities, women’s rights groups, education, literacy crisis intervention, environmental activism, youth development, entrepreneurship, social justice and alleviation of poverty and hunger.
The CAFSA team got involved with a Habitat for Humanity Build in Orange Farm in Gauteng.
“Volunteering in South Africa is ingrained in the fabric of the country’s philosophy of Ubuntu, which, loosely translated means ‘a person is a person because of other people.’ In other words, I am because you are. This speaks to our humanity as a people,” Gill shared. “Another African proverb expresses similar sentiments and says, ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want far, go together.’ Volunteering is a critical component of a civically engaged life, particularly in South Africa. Civil society and the nonprofit sectors are critical components of South Africa’s young democracy and continue to hold the government, the corporate sector and itself accountable.”
Serendipitously, HandsOn Greater Richmond’s Vanessa Diamond shared that she’s been using her voice since childhood thanks to parents who were activists in anti-arparthied South Africa. She encourages anyone looking to lead a more civically engaged life to find an issue important to them and then get educated on the solutions before jumping in.
“Really explore to determine what kind of organization you want to be contributing your time, effort, money and voice to,” Vanessa says. “If you’re really inspired or really angry about something that’s happening, that will ensure you have the passion to actively be a part of the solution. You have what it takes to make the difference. We often think someone else will do it, but it’s up to all of us to be the solution.”
HandsOn Suburban Chicago and HandsOn Tokyo Shape the Future by Impacting Youth
If you want to see some of the biggest and most challenging issues facing the United States today, look no further than the classroom. The education system in America is a microcosm of today’s most pressing national and global concerns — including discrimination, violence, and income inequality.
And while the effects of these hot-button issues can be witnessed acutely at the classroom level, this is also the environment where some of the greatest impacts can be made. Educators reach future generations at their most impressionable ages and have the ability to positively influence them in ways that can last a lifetime.
AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP volunteer Julian Schreiber spends his lunch hour reading with his Timber Ridge School student over a video call.
, a Points of Light Global Network affiliate and nonprofit dedicated to improving the quality of life in its surrounding communities.
By connecting people to enriching volunteer experiences, HandsOn Suburban Chicago engages more than 5,000 individuals annually in service. The organization harnesses the power of volunteerism to enable vulnerable populations to age in their homes and improve the socialization and well-being of seniors. But a large part of their mission is a focus on the education system in
northern DuPage and northern Cook Counties, IL
.
Chris Swope Cholewa, executive director, and Jess Park, director of School Programs, oversee initiatives that benefit low-income, first-generation students of color — many of whom are limited English proficient and require special education services to bolster their academic, emotional, and social development.
“In 2017, 42% percent of the middle school students that HandsOn Suburban Chicago served achieved satisfactory grades,” they said. “That percentage, which has been steadily climbing over the years, reached 94% last school year. In SY 2019-20, 99% of middle school students also demonstrated satisfactory school attendance and 94% met Illinois Social and Emotional Learning standards.”
These soaring improvements are due in part to HandsOn Suburban Chicago’s
, founded in 2010 with Community Consolidated School District 21. CHiL is an evidence-based afterschool program designed to prevent gang recruitment and offer homework assistance and social and emotional learning activities to high-needs middle school students in Wheeling Township.
“CHiL helps students like Brian — a low-income, English language learner in grade 7,” Chris and Jess shared. “The language barrier he frequently encountered at school chipped away not only at his performance but also his self-esteem.”
After completing a year of CHiL, Brian’s teacher sent this email: “Huge improvement in grades, confidence and participation in class for Brian, he received an A- in math for T2 (second trimester) and was so proud of himself! Thank you for all you do and all your efforts with this program!”
A Community Paint-A-Thon volunteer takes a break to pose for the perfect shot.
HandsOn Suburban Chicago’s volunteer-based school programs prepare more than 1,000 high-needs youth annually to succeed both in and out of the classroom. In 2015, the nonprofit launched
, which provides in-school tutoring and mentoring for low-income elementary school students in Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village, Palatine, and Mount Prospect.
The organization also engages area middle schools and high schools in a variety of service learning opportunities that include
academic lessons
, hands-on projects, and days of service in the community. For instance,
is a partnership between HandsOn Suburban Chicago, Catholic Charities and Habitat for Humanity of Northern Fox Valley. Since 1988, the Paint-a-thon has painted over 850 homes for seniors, veterans, and individuals with disabilities.
has been hard at work providing meaningful bilingual volunteer opportunities to foster volunteerism and develop leaders to serve the needs of their community. The nonprofit equips individuals, companies and community partners with volunteer opportunities, it also inspires and mobilizes youth to
While HandsOn Tokyo serves many populations in Japan — including the elderly, those with special needs and communities impacted by natural disasters — one of their primary focus areas is delivering interactive and educational activities to help underprivileged children in
children’s homes
to gain important life skills.
The children living in these homes come from complicated backgrounds, often experiencing domestic violence or poverty, and are usually suffering from social withdrawal. They’re often not very expressive or active and are used to having external support from volunteers. HandsOn Tokyo gives these children an opportunity to volunteer themselves, experiencing the impact that comes with supporting others.
This helps build crucial self confidence in the children from a young age. Motoko Kawaguchi, executive director at HandsOn Tokyo, shared a touching story about a high school girl who participated in a Tohoku volunteering trip. She was known to be socially withdrawn and seldomly expressed her emotions or ambition for the future.
“During the trip, she discovered that she really enjoyed farming and being in nature,” Motoko shared. “Later she sought an internship on a farm, and has also become more expressive and outgoing.”
Tohoku Volunteering with Children’s Homes.
Almost all of the children who reported back after this trip said they felt a sense of accomplishment and pride in being “appreciated by others.” Many want to volunteer again and have encouraged others in their group homes to volunteer in the future. These volunteer trips are also an important opportunity for the children’s caretakers to better understand each child’s fullest potential.
HandsOn Tokyo has done outstanding work over the past several years, impacting the lives of 19,867 recipients in 2019 and 16,222 lives in 2020, even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic when the nonprofit was forced to shut down in-person volunteering.
Motoko encourages those considering volunteering to jump in without hesitation. “If there’s any particular cause or group that works with the issues that you feel strongly about, without a second thought try volunteering with them,” he said. “You will not only make an impact in the community but it is very likely that you’ll benefit even more in return.”
“Volunteering is the ‘engaged’ component of a civically engaged life. By investing time and labor into improving the quality of life in a community, volunteers acknowledge that the well-being of every individual is integral to the well-being of society as a whole,” said
Jess Park of HandsOn Suburban Chicago. “
Volunteerism thus begets a more complete understanding of how social issues arose, the role social institutions play, the responsibilities of citizenship and what it takes to inspire change.”
affiliates across the country to revitalize school learning environments with the goal of supporting students in achieving academic success. Through our School Transformation Day project, employee-volunteers roll up their sleeves for school beautification projects, from painting walls to building outdoor classrooms. This annual event has become a favorite of employees, attracting more than 20,000 Fidelity volunteers in the last 10 years.
This year, due to COVID-19, our decade-long, beloved School Transformation Day was at risk of cancellation. But at Fidelity, we believe that long-term change and success comes through collaboration, listening and adapting to the needs of our communities. And that is exactly what we did. Throughout the regions, our community relations team worked closely with local Points of Light affiliates to understand our community partner’s top needs and priorities during the 2020-2021 school year, mid-pandemic. We also engaged our passionate colleagues across the country to gauge their interest in completing community projects from home, with their families.
New York-New Jersey Season of Transformation
“Despite the unusual nature of 2020, we saw that our employees, while working in a virtual environment, were even more enthusiastic about supporting community,” said Heidi Siegal, vice president, community relations at Fidelity Investments. “Our people are our greatest asset.”
As a result, we pivoted School Transformation Day to a fully virtual, experience reflecting the unique needs and difficult challenges of each community. Our community relations team consistently heard three themes: COVID-19 safety needs, support of virtual learning and addressing the digital divide.
Fidelity assisted schools and nonprofits with replenishing the resources utilized throughout the crisis to meet the ongoing needs of students including COVID-19 safety kits, face shields, contactless thermometers and touchless water fountains.
Employee volunteers focused on the social and emotional support of students. Working at home with their families, volunteers created mindfulness kits and recorded guided meditations and beginning yoga videos for students as part of one school’s new self-regulation room sponsored by Fidelity. Volunteers also created inspirational canvas art to hang in hallways, garden kits for students to build their own gardens at home, classroom safety signs, reading corners to promote literacy and even tie-dyed t-shirts for the students.
Additionally, volunteers placed over 380 Amazon Wish List orders which provided schools with more than 4,000 individual supplies including notebooks, folders, paper and snacks.
A mom and daughter create a mural together in Texas.
Through our community partners we learned that the pandemic exacerbated educational inequalities among students, and none more critical than the lack of access to technology for Black and Brown students. In response, Fidelity committed to providing technology resources for educators and students to effectively engage in remote learning. Students in schools where Fidelity has a presence received equipment needed for virtual learning including iPads®, Chromebooks™, earbuds with mics and lap desks. Many teachers also received a second monitor to enhance their online teaching experience. Additionally, community partners like the Boys & Girls Clubs, which throughout the pandemic have become centers of education by extending their hours to support virtual learning, were supported with enhanced Wi-Fi and additional equipment.
Community and school partners were also supported through a series of grants made in each region. The grant funding was used at the discretion of the recipients to purchase safety and cleaning equipment needed to combat COVID-19, technology for students and teachers, virtual curriculum and more.
“Our strong partnership with Points of Light and the commitment of our employee volunteers make it possible for Fidelity to continue impacting communities,” said Siegal.
The 2020 annual School Transformation Day involved more than 620 employee volunteers and their families virtually connecting with 14 schools and organizations across the country impacting more than 28,000 students and nearly 500 teachers.
Virtual Volunteering: How 2 Companies Shifted Their Days of Service Online Amidst the Pandemic
Like many other aspects of our lives, employee civic engagement – mainly traditional employee volunteering – has been considerably affected by recent global events. Restrictions imposed to protect the health and safety of communities worldwide have forced well-planned company-wide galvanizing moments of service to be either postponed or canceled.
Despite the complete upheaval to everyone’s daily life, Points of Light corporate partners have responded to the initial outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis, provided emergency relief and adapted to a new working environment. We are proud to tell the stories of some of our long-standing corporate partners that have built on the sense of community, history of supporting one another through the crisis and provided opportunities for their employees to be part of something bigger through their annual days and weeks of service.
The Vertex Day of Service has been an annual tradition for Vertex employees for the past 12 years. Vertex moved forward with their Day of Service celebration this year, making a few key changes to ensure safety and provide employees with a variety of ways to get involved:
Expanded the time for employees to get involved. Instead of reserving a day for community engagement, Vertex employees could take some time and engage in activities during the week of Sept. 28 to Oct. 2, 2020.
Expanded the range of volunteer opportunities. Vertex curated and offered remote, virtual or outdoor activities for employees in partnership with several different nonprofit partners.
Vertex partnered with Points of Light and our Global Network of innovative volunteer-mobilizing organizations to create custom remote and virtual employee volunteering opportunities in eight countries. Through the joint effort, we mobilized 195 volunteers that were engaged in 18 different volunteer activities, interacting with 23 local nonprofit organizations. Volunteer opportunities for Vertex employees included:
An online career day with students from a high school in Warsaw, Poland. Vertex volunteers reviewed the high school students’ resumes, provided feedback, discussed career pathways and participated in a job interview simulation exercise.
An at-home activity in Rome, Italy, where volunteers spent time assembling creative objects to help two local nonprofits support their programs and activities.
An at-home kit-building activity in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where volunteers put together supply kits to donate to 250 children.
“While our Day of Service may have looked a little different this year, we knew our employees were committed to supporting our community partners more than ever,” said Amy Seto, Vertex Pharmaceuticals. “Working with Points of Light and their local affiliates allowed us to expand our ideas of service while giving back to those most in need.”
One day each year, Casey Wasserman invites Wasserman employees and athletes to volunteer during the annual Wasserman Serve Day hosted by the Wasserman Foundation. With this year marking the 10
th
anniversary celebration of Serve Day, Wasserman company and the Wasserman Foundation especially wanted to show employees that the spirit of kindness, generosity and community involvement is more needed than ever.
Points of Light Global Network affiliates organized remote and virtual employee volunteering opportunities for Wasserman offices in nine cities across five countries. On Oct. 1, 2020, more than 550 Wasserman employees joined a variety of volunteer activities that included:
Writing articles, creating games and trivia quizzes, and putting together a printed newspaper that was distributed to more than 5,000 seniors in residential care centers across the Netherlands.
Assembling art-supply kits and creating simple, personalized art for youth served by a local nonprofit in Portland, Oregon.
Creating educational videos for children, encouraging them to learn and look into STEM subjects in London.
“The Wasserman Foundation was thrilled to partner with Points of Light to host the 10
th
annual Wasserman Serve Day,” said Cassidy Carol, Wasserman Foundation. “Points of Light went above and beyond to ensure that our first ever virtual events ran smoothly and were still fun and engaging for the volunteers. Their vast network of nonprofit partners around the world allowed us to curate impactful projects in 9 cities across 5 countries.”
The CSR leaders from these companies had the inspiration and courage to think more creatively about enabling their fellow employees to be involved fully and flourish. By continuing to coordinate company-wide days of service, they met the expectations of addressing current pressing community needs while harnessing employees’ passion for serving.
Points of Light remains committed to working alongside community-focused companies and corporate social responsibility leaders in this challenging work. From employee activation to consulting custom programming, we are here to make your ideas a reality. To learn more,
on record to strike the Bahamas, 2019 was a year of devastating natural disasters.
Scientists say that natural disasters are becoming more frequent and intense because of climate change. With increasing global surface temperatures, more water vapor is evaporated into the atmosphere, which becomes fuel for more powerful storms to develop,
. Hotter air and warmer ocean temperatures can lead to stronger winds in tropical storms.
Volunteers make Mabuhay Balls, which preserve the vitality of fish and rehabilitate polluted water when thrown into lakes, streams and other bodies of water.
The Philippines got to experience the effects of climate change first hand when a tropical depression triggered deadly landslides and floods last January. More than 100 lives were lost,
Knowing that if the world continues on this trajectory, there won’t be a habitable world for future generations, Points of Light’s Global Network affiliate
, to make volunteering easily accessible for different corporate companies and organizations around the Philippines.
“In our country and other parts of the world, there are many things that the government is unable to do,” said Gianna Montinola, co-founder and president of Hands On Manila. “There’s just too much that has to be done, so we mobilize the private sector to try to fill in the gaps and do service projects in different areas.”
With the theme of “Hands on, Hearts out for the Environment,” last year’s SERVATHON brought together 1,018 volunteers on September 28 to produce $2.4 million worth of goods and services.
(ASI), Hands On Manila was able to ensure that the three volunteer projects were innovative and help create a sustainable environment.
In one corner, volunteers worked on putting together soil booster mixes that would be used for the enrichment soil and for composting. Volunteers filled over 2,000 bottles with the soil booster mix that would later be distributed to gardeners and farmers of ASI.
In another section, volunteers created educational kits that included interactive books and other teaching materials focused on the environment. The materials were placed inside a canvas string bag that was painted by the volunteers. In the end, 210 of these kits were made to be distributed by WWF to teachers and students at local schools.
A group of corporate volunteers make environmental information kits to be distributed to teachers and students at local schools.
Lastly, volunteers also worked on making Mabuhay Balls. Derived from Japan’s Bokashi Ball technology, these balls of mud are packed with effective microorganisms. When thrown into polluted lakes, rivers or streams, Mabuhay Balls help rehabilitate the water by preserving the vitality of fish, promoting the breakdown of organic and inorganic compounds, and preventing any foul odors. The volunteers produced 13,260 of these balls.
As people reflect on what they can do to help the environment this Global Volunteer Month, it’s easy to become discouraged that one’s actions won’t make a lasting difference. But from simple acts like recycling to bigger volunteer projects like SERVATHON, these efforts add up and will spark even more positive acts to save the environment.
“If we continue to do what we’re doing and are not conscious of the shape the environment is in at the moment, we only have ourselves to blame,” Montinola said. “It’s our responsibility to leave the Earth in a better place for our children and our grandchildren.”
In light of COVID-19, nonprofits, companies and individuals are adapting the ways in which they serve their communities. Visit
to find creative ways to make a difference and be a #LocalLight in your community during Global Volunteer Month.
Through Kindness Walks, Community and Trust is Built for Hong Kong’s Homeless Population
Colette Aw is no ordinary assistant teacher. After hearing about the weekly Kindness Walks that ImpactHK hosts, Colette experienced her first walk, and was committed to fulfilling the needs of her community. She has become a monumental volunteer in building trust and friendship with those in need, and continues to create opportunities of change each week for more than 500 homeless individuals.
Kindness Walks provide support for people experiencing homelessness throughout Hong Kong, and are a large part of
mission of addressing the issues that homeless populations face across the country. Colette reflects the organization’s belief that kindness is always important, and that one act of kindness has the power to grow far beyond one could imagine. With a partnership alongside
, a Points of Light Global Network affiliate that empowers Hong Kong residents to serve and mobilize together, Colette has access to numerous willing volunteers who are ready to meet the needs of their neighborhoods.
Colette often leads the Tai Kok Tsui and Fortress Hill
by mobilizing groups of volunteers to spread kindness and generosity as they distribute daily necessities – including food, water, toiletries, clothing and free laundry supplies – to homeless individuals and those in need. To date, Colette has played a role in serving more than 2200 meals, housing 62 homeless individuals and helping 42 people experiencing homelessness find employment. It’s one of her favorite ways to make a difference, and these walks allow her and other volunteers to show people how much they care.
According to Colette, there are others in need who also deserve assistance from Kindness Walks, like street cleaners, the elderly and the poor. She also believes that volunteers aren’t a part of Kindness Walks to force conversation and interventions, but are a resource to counter loneliness, fear and isolation. If an individual in need is open to receiving help, volunteers can then direct them to the resources that ImpactHK has prepared to assist them in leaving the streets.
“One of my favorite things about the Kindness Walks is that you get to physically be there and reach out to the less fortunate. It’s very hands on, and I always feel connected to the individuals that we serve,” said Colette.
“It’s important to remind each other to help the less fortunate,” she continues. “Yet, it’s hard to convince someone that they should be doing volunteer work. It needs to come from the heart.”
Colette Aw (right) prepares food and supplies to be handed out during a weekly Kindness Walk with ImpactHK.
Colette has personally experienced seeing volunteers improve the lives of communities across Hong Kong. She has seen previous individuals experiencing homelessness eventually join committees that help organize Kindness Walks, and knows many parents who bring their children along during weekend walks. To Colette, this helps the younger generations understand the value of helping others and understand the needs of people experiencing homelessness. She also values the leadership of ImpactHK, where the founder continues to organize speeches at schools around Hong Kong to remind teens and teachers the importance of helping others.
One meaningful moment that Colette has experienced as a Kindness Walk volunteer was during the protests in Hong Kong in the summer of 2019. Volunteers continued weekly Kindness Walks, but to Colette’s surprise, the homeless population began to worry about the volunteers’ safety more than themselves. One of the homeless individuals even offered his umbrella to Colette while it started raining heavily on a walk.
According to Colette, volunteers are just ordinary and local people who keep the greater good in their hearts and minds. “To me, its people from all over the world celebrating and raising awareness at the same time of the importance of helping each other through volunteering,” Colette said. When volunteers from around the world share a passion for empowering their community, there is always a reason to celebrate.
Colette wants others to feel encouraged to seek out ways to make a difference. To her, “everyone is busy with their lives, but we all have a daily invitation to show gratitude and care for others.”
In light of COVID-19, nonprofits, companies and individuals are adapting the ways in which they serve their communities. Visit
to find creative ways to make a difference and be a #LocalLight in your community during Global Volunteer Month.
HandsOn London Fights Against Poverty and Inequality by Warming Hearts of Those in Need One Coat at a Time
During the holiday season in London, carols and twinkling lights will light up the streets, bringing a sense of cheer to both the locals and tourists. They say Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, but for those who are homeless or struggling to make ends meet, the holidays can just amplify their hardships.
Knowing how harsh the winters in London can be, Points of Light Global Network affiliate
campaign. The program started off small, with 2,700 coats being collected by about a dozen volunteers.
But now, about 1,400 volunteers lead the effort to collect about 30,000 coats each year. The coats are then donated to over 100 charities that help refugees, victims of domestic violence, those who are at risk of poverty, and especially, those who are homeless, according to CEO of HandsOn London Jon Meech.
Volunteers with Wrap Up London collect coats at a subway station./ Courtesy HandsOn London
“Clothing doesn’t last very long when you’re on the street,” Meech said. “It gets worn; it gets damaged really quickly. So over the course of one winter, a homeless person may need more than one coat. What we hope to do is ensure that the homeless charities have enough coats to hand out and have enough in stock to give somebody a replacement when they need it.”
The main coat collections are held at London’s six major subway stations for three days in the beginning of November. Before the morning rush hour hits, volunteers will set up donations sites to collect coats from the millions of commuters passing through the stations.
Collections are also held at offices, shops and churches around the city so a person wanting to donate their coat wouldn’t have to travel far.
While Meech expressed his gratitude to the thousands of Londoners who have donated their coats, he said that Wrap Up London wouldn’t be where it is today without the dedication of the volunteers who collect, sort and arrange distribution of the coats.
One volunteer even travels 400 miles to London to drive around in the city’s rush hour traffic to help pick up the bags of coats other volunteers have collected, according to Meech.
“I asked him, ‘Why are you doing this?’” Meech recalled. “And he said, ‘I just love the atmosphere. It’s like you’re a part of something.’ And he lives on the other end of the country!”
A volunteer holds up a coat that has been donated at one of Wrap Up London’s coat drives./ Courtesy HandsOn London
After seeing the impact Wrap Up London was having on the city, HandsOn London decided to expand the campaign to other cities across the United Kingdom. Now, from Glasgow to Birmingham, a total of 24 towns and cities are joining in the fight against poverty and inequality by collecting warm coats for those in need.
In a world where no less than 150 million people are homeless,
, donating a single coat might not seem like a grand enough gesture to impact change.
But as people around the world reflect on what they can do help better society this Global Volunteer Month, Meech said the first thing people should remember is this:
“No act of kindness is too small. Every act of kindness is important.”
In light of COVID-19, nonprofits, companies and individuals are adapting the ways in which they serve their communities. Visit
to find creative ways to make a difference and be a #LocalLight in your community during Global Volunteer Month.
After Overcoming a Difficult Past, Asylum Seeker Advocates for Human and Civil Rights for Refugees
Once Owodunni “Ola” Mustapha arrived in Ireland after seeking asylum from an abusive environment in Nigeria, she became a force of inspiration for her community. She is currently a resident of five years at the Direct Provision Centre in Ballyhaunis, County Mayo, and is committed to building herself and her community up to ensure human and civil rights to all. Ola quickly became a leading volunteer at her local asylum seeker centre, and continues to help others rise in her community and throughout Ireland.
Direct provision centres make up a system of asylum seeker accommodations in Ireland that aim to meet basic needs, such as providing food and shelter to individuals as they wait for their claims of refugee status to be completed. The intent of the direct provision centres is to shelter asylum seekers for a period of six months, but according to Ola, some individuals stay for eight to nine years.
In the midst of uncertainty and vulnerability in these shelters, Ola chose to volunteer. Her commitment to empowering others to claim their basic human and civil rights is relentless; after several attempts to mobilize women with similar backgrounds and adversities in her shelter, Ola succeeded. She brings together groups of women who live in the Ballyhaunis centre to plan inclusion and integration projects within their centre and to build bridges between asylum seekers and the local community.
, which has grown to empower the lives of women beyond Ola’s personal centre. “People find relief in coming together as one group,” said Ola. “We face one struggle, the same situations, and we can discuss our issues as an empowered, solidified family-like unit.”
One of her goals is to give people the flexibility to live the lives that they want instead of living in the mindset of being a prisoner. According to Ola, you don’t have to live in the Ballyhaunis centre to volunteer. People from the community have opportunities to get involved, like coming to the shelter to give asylum seekers free English classes.
Ola Mustapha begins her day at the Ballyhaunis shelter by spending time with her children before meeting with her center community.
When asked how she found her voice and passion for inclusion, Ola reflects on the strength she found while overcoming domestic violence. When she arrived in Ireland, she uncovered a breath of fresh air that was inspired by the new life she wanted to create for herself and for her children. In fact, one of Ola’s first experiences with a volunteer involved her children. Ola’s two-year-old son has special needs, but she had never heard of autism prior to arriving in Ireland. She met a volunteer who helped her understand autism, and they changed her perception of volunteering. Ola realized that such interactions create a sense of belonging, appreciation and value.
In addition to spearheading volunteer efforts at the Ballyhaunis centre, Ola volunteers with
, an organization dedicated to promoting the positive effects of interculturalism in Irish Society. Here, she works towards creating a society where human rights and cultural differences are respected and valued. Ola is also a major link between asylum seekers at her shelter and valuable refugee policy information that Mayo Intercultural Action provides. She keeps individuals updated on the evolving policy that refugees must know once they arrive in Ireland.
Ola’s mission-oriented heart has not gone unnoticed. A fellow volunteer at Mayo Intercultural Action introduced her to
affiliate helping individuals contribute to building resilient communities, where she was nominated for multiple awards that honored her dedication to social inclusion. Due to her prominent voice in her community, Ola was named the
, an award that celebrates her resilience and tremendous compassion.
One of Ola’s favorite experiences as a volunteer has been the simple, yet immensely significant, role of spreading the news. “So many women and individuals don’t know what the system is about. It’s easy to assume that initially being housed and funded will last, but there’s so much more that we need to know,” Ola said. She continues to advocate that seeking asylum is a foundational human right, and that asylum seekers are not responsible for the institutional systems that may not operate efficiently.
She believes that it’s important for people around the world to give back because if knowledge and skills are kept hidden, there is a missed opportunity to pass valuable wisdom to other people in need. Ola acknowledges that there are many stereotypes and prejudices around people going through the asylum seeker process, but she knows that life should not be lived in such a way.
“Do not follow the stereotypes people create for you just because you are a person of color or a migrant,” said Ola. “Do not kill your passion just because someone told you that this job is the only thing you can do after arriving in the country.” Because of advocates like Ola, perceptions of refugees are slowly improving across her community.
When asked what she has learned as a volunteer, Ola reflects on her personal journey at becoming self-sufficient. People cannot always stand alone and sit behind closed doors, Ola highlights. Becoming stagnant is never a solution to creating a positive change.
Ola’s future is nothing but radiant. “Do not give up on yourself,” said Ola. “Be an example, and constantly rediscover your capabilities as a difference maker.”
In light of COVID-19, nonprofits, companies and individuals are adapting the ways in which they serve their communities. Visit
to find creative ways to make a difference and be a #LocalLight in your community during Global Volunteer Month.
Seattle Works and United Way of King County Work to Dismantle Racism and Promote Diversity by Starting Within their Own Organizations
America has long been referred to as a “melting pot” of ethnicities, cultures, beliefs and values. But we can see from recent events – from the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia to attacks on Asian-Americans since the coronavirus pandemic – that a lot more needs to be done – even in the nonprofit sector.
in the U.S., the boards of nonprofits are still extremely white. A 2017 survey of nearly 1,800 foundation and public charity CEOs and board chairs found that 90% of CEOs and board chairs and 84% of board members were white,
Of course, dismantling racism and promoting diversity in leadership positions doesn’t happen overnight. But Points of Light Global Network affiliates Seattle Works and United Way of King County have dedicated themselves to the fight, by starting within their own organizations.
As a cisgender, white male, Ben Reuler, executive director of
, understands his privilege. So he took the challenge of evolving a historically and predominantly white organization into one that is actively anti-racist as his responsibility.
Ben Reuler (right) is executive director of Seattle Works and he penned a letter to the community that outlines how the organization has worked to incorporate diversity in its philosophy./ Courtesy Seattle Works
“I’ve learned that when white people are silent on issues of race, we are complicit in perpetuating very harmful norms that are rooted in whiteness and white supremacy,” Reuler said. “That’s why we’re using language like ‘dismantle racism’ to really speak to the action associated with beyond just good intention and taking stances, and really dismantling racism by changing policies, practices, cultural norms at our organization.”
In 2016, Seattle Works was able to receive a grant that helped them put their words into action. The organization hired three consultants, who are all women of color, to lead the conversation surrounding race with Seattle Works’ board of directors.
The three consultants – Caprice Hollins, Toi Sing Woo and Kirsten Harris-Talley – guided the staff to launch an equity team and implement race-based caucusing, led the board and staff to align on the priority of disrupting white silence, and pushed the organization to align on and document its cultural norms,
Other initiatives that Seattle Works has implemented include a mandatory antiracism workshop for staff, improving the hiring process with an equitable lens, improving compensation, and only voting on new board members if at least one third of the candidates are people of color.
“Diversity is important because we need to ask, ‘Who sees themselves in our organization?’” Reuler said. “Representation is important because of the perspectives that diverse experiences bring to decision making and advancing racial equity as an organization.”
Meanwhile, Liahann Bannerman, director of volunteer engagement at
, knows all too well about the lack of diversity in the nonprofit world. She’s lived through it.
For over 25 years, United Way of King County has empowered people of color to claim leadership roles through its Project LEAD program./ Courtesy United Way of King County
As an African-American woman who has been with UWKC for 23 years, Bannerman is making sure the organization is doing everything it can to incorporate diversity and inclusion into not only their internal work, but also their programs and projects with external partners.
The organization works to help the homeless, help students graduate and break the cycle of poverty for those living in King County, Washington. But without addressing the difficult conversation around race, none of their work would be effective, according to Bannerman.
“We cannot end homelessness unless we address racial inequities,” Bannerman said. “We cannot get all kids ready for school unless we break racism and those disparities. Basically, for us to be successful in our work, beyond just volunteering, we’ve got to do that.”
To ensure that people of color are sitting at the table when those conversations take place, UWKC has led a program for more than 25 years that trains highly qualified minorities to become leaders for nonprofit boards.
Called Project LEAD, the program has produced more than 1,000 graduates, many of whom have gone on to serve successfully on the board of nonprofits. But just because you have one black person serving on a board, doesn’t mean that solves everything, Bannerman said.
“We’re really having racial equity be an ongoing component to the program because it’s ingrained all throughout the [Project LEAD] curriculum,” Nadia Gandara, UWKC’s volunteer initiatives manager said. “We’re allowing folks to engage in conversation around ‘How does this show up? What is their role? What are best practices that we can do in order to mitigate harm?’”
Bannerman echoed Gandara’s thoughts.
“As a black person serving on a board, you need to be thinking about what is the impact for other communities of color as you’re making decisions for that board… One of the things we try and really emphasize is giving thought to who’s not in the room.”
As nonprofit organizations around the world recognizeGlobal Volunteer Month, Gandara said there is one thing they should remember:
“I hope the organizations really find out what their ‘why’ is and how [racial equity] fits into that.”
In light of COVID-19, nonprofits, companies and individuals are adapting the ways in which they serve their communities. Visit
